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Program Overview

Program Goals and Benefits

The Scholarly Concentration Program was developed to promote scholarly excellence at Alpert Medical School; to produce scholarly leaders in medicine, research, education, and advocacy; and to enrich the student experience, the Brown Medical School community, and the greater society.
Essential elements of the Scholarly Concentrations experience include:

  • Rigorous independent scholarship
  • Cross-disciplinary study
  • Mentored relationships
  • Group seminars/courses
  • Scholarly work across Years I-IV of medical school
  • Submission of a scholarly product

Participating students benefit from the faculty mentor relationship that is central to the Concentrations Program.  Students may have the opportunity to publish their work and/or present at national conferences.  Additional benefits to students include discussion of their concentration work in students’ Dean’s Letters, a certificate upon completion of the program, and recognition of their accomplishments at graduation.

Program Timeline

Students pursue a Concentration during the summer between Years I & II, during the self-directed learning time in Year II, and during elective and clerkship time in Years III and IV.

Year I

Students identify an area of interest and a faculty mentor.  Together, they develop a summer project, investigate summer funding opportunities, and outline a four-year plan to complete the concentration requirements.  Completed applications are due to the Scholarly Concentrations Office in February.

Summer

During the summer months between Years I and II, students engage in an in-depth summer experience (~8-10 weeks).  This summer work will provide the scaffolding upon which the four-year Concentration, and the final scholarly product, will be built. . The primary source of funding for summer work is through Summer Assistantships.
At the end of the summer students submit a Progress Report form to the Scholarly Concentrations Office.

Year II

Students continue their participation in the Concentration through the utilization of self-directed learning time (Wednesdays) and through attendance of courses/seminars as required by the Concentration.  At the end of Year II, students submit a second Progress Report to the Scholarly Concentrations Office.

Year III

Students continue their participation in the Concentration through independent work during clerkship rotations and through the choice of electives related to their concentration area. Students will be asked to submit a final Progress Report to the Scholarly Concentrations Office.

Tips on how to integrate concentration work into a clinical schedule.

Year IV

Students will continue their participation in the Concentration through independent work during clerkship rotations and through the choice of electives related to their concentration area.  Students will present their scholarly project for approval in February/March of Year IV as required by their Concentration area Directors.

Application Process

Interested students should:

  • Explore the different concentration areas and choose one that is of interest.
  • Meet with the concentration area Director(s) prior to winter break to discuss potential summer projects and final scholarly products.
  • Develop a proposal for participation in the concentration area and apply for funding as needed.
    As you begin to work on your academic product, librarians are available for one-on-one research consultation, to help you with all aspects of the research process, including:
    • Figuring out research topic ideas
    • Finding background information on your topic
    • Identifying high quality, scholarly resources for your topic or project
    • Strategizing on how to manage citations
  • Contact Janet_Crager@brown.edu or Frank_Kellerman@brown.edu to set up a research session.

Program Participation

  • There is no penalty for students who elect not to participate in the Scholarly Concentrations Program.  Many students will continue to focus on the core preclinical and clinical curriculum, and to pursue their extra-curricular interests outside of the SC Program structure. 
  • Students applying to a concentration must maintain good academic and behavioral standing as determined by the Medical Committee on Academic Standing. 
  • Acceptance in a particular concentration area will be determined by the Concentration Director(s) based on the merit of the proposed project and the number of student spots available in that particular Concentration.